July 29
Events *1014 - Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars: Battle of Kleidion: Byzantine emperor Basil II inflicts a decisive defeat on the Bulgarian army, and his subsequent savage treatment of 15,000 prisoners reportedly causes Tsar Samuil of Bulgaria to die of shock. *1030 - Ladejarl-Fairhair succession wars: Battle of Stiklestad - King Olaf II fights and dies trying to regain his Norwegian throne from the Danes. *1565 - Mary Queen of Scots, widowed, marries Henry Stuart, Duke of Albany at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, Scotland. *1567 - James VI is crowned King of Scotland at Stirling. *1588 - Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Gravelines - English naval forces under command of Lord Charles Howard and Sir Francis Drake defeats the Spanish Armada off the coast of Gravelines, France. *1693 - War of the Grand Alliance: Battle of Landen - France wins a Pyrrhic victory over Allied forces in the Netherlands. *1793 - John Graves Simcoe decides to build a fort and settlement at Toronto, having sailed into the bay there. *1830 - Abdication of Charles X of France. *1836 - Inauguration of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. *1847 - Cumberland School of Law founded in Lebanon, Tennessee, USA. At the end of 1847 only 15 law schools exist in the United States. *1848 - Irish Potato Famine: Tipperary Revolt - In Tipperary, an unsuccessful nationalist revolt against British rule is put down by police. *1851 - Annibale de Gasparis discovers asteroid 15 Eunomia. *1858 - United States and Japan sign the Harris Treaty. *1864 - American Civil War: Confederate spy Belle Boyd is arrested by Union troops and detained at the Old Capitol Prison in Washington. *1899 - The First Hague Convention is signed. *1900 - In Italy, King Umberto I of Italy is assassinated by Italian-born anarchist Gaetano Bresci. *1907 - Sir Robert Baden-Powell sets up the Brownsea Island Scout camp in Poole Harbour on the south coast of England. The camp ran from August 1-9, 1907, and is regarded as the founding of the Scouting movement. *1920 - Construction of the Link River Dam begins as part of the Klamath Reclamation Project. *1921 - Adolf Hitler becomes leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party. *1932 - Great Depression: In Washington, U.S. troops disperse the last of the "Bonus Army" of World War I veterans. *1945 - The BBC Light Programme radio station was launched for mainstream light entertainment and music. *1947 - After being shut off on November 9, 1946 for a memory upgrade, ENIAC, the world's first all-electronic digital computer, is reactivated. It will remain in continuous operation until October 2, 1955. *1948 - Olympic Games: The Games of the XIV Olympiad - After a hiatus of 12 years caused by World War II, the first Summer Olympics to be held since the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin opened in London. *1957 - The International Atomic Energy Agency is established. *1958 - The U.S. Congress formally creates the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). *1959 - First Congressional elections in Hawaii as a state of the Union. *1965 - Vietnam War: The first 4,000 101st Airborne Division paratroopers arrive in Vietnam, landing at Cam Ranh Bay. *1966 - Musician Bob Dylan crashes his Triumph motorcycle in upstate New York. He goes into seclusion for over a year before reemerging and reinventing himself artistically. * 1966 - American magazine Datebook releases issue with the Beatles article from the London Evening Standard four months ago which includes John Lennon's "more popular than Jesus" statement, setting off a furor resulting the trashing and burning of Beatles records and merchandise and the banning of Beatles songs on radio *1967 - Vietnam War: Off the coast of North Vietnam the [[Wikipedia:USS Forrestal|USS Forrestal]] catches on fire in the worst U.S. naval disaster since World War II, killing 134. * 1967 - At the fourth day of celebrating its 400th anniversary, the city of Caracas, Venezuela was shaken by an earthquake, leaving approximately 500 dead. *1976 - In New York City, the "Son of Sam" kills one person and seriously wounds another in the first of a series of attacks. *1981 - Lady Diana Spencer marries Charles. *1987 - British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and President of France François Mitterrand sign the agreement to build the tunnel under the English Channel (Eurotunnel). * 1987 - Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President J. R. Jayawardene sign the Indo-Lankan Pact on ethnic issue. *1993 - The Israeli Supreme Court acquits accused Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk of all charges and he is set free. *1996 - The controversial child protection portion of the Communications Decency Act (1996) is struck down as too broad by a U.S. federal court. *2005 - Astronomers announce their discovery of Eris. *2007 - The ruling coalition of Japan lost its majority in the upper house after the election. Births *1166 - Henry II of Champagne (d. 1197) *1605 - Simon Dach, German poet (d. 1659) *1763 - Philip Charles Durham, Royal Navy Admiral (d. 1845) *1797 - Daniel Drew, American financier (d. 1879) *1801 - George Bradshaw, English publisher (d. 1853) *1805 - Alexis de Tocqueville, French historian and political scientist (d. 1859) *1843 - Johannes Schmidt, German linguist (d. 1901) *1849 - Max Nordau, Austrian author and Zionist leader (d. 1923) *1869 - Booth Tarkington, American author (d. 1946) *1872 - Eric Alfred Knudsen, American folklorist (d. 1957) *1874 - James Shaver Woodsworth, Canadian politician (d. 1942) *1876 - Maria Ouspenskaya, Russian-born actress (d. 1949) *1878 - Don Marquis, American author (d. 1937) *1883 - Porfirio Barba-Jacob, Colombian poet and writer (d. 1942) * 1883 - Benito Mussolini, Italian dictator (d. 1945) *1884 - Ralph A. Bard, U.S. Navy Undersecretary (d. 1975) *1885 - Theda Bara, American film actress (d. 1955) *1887 - Sigmund Romberg, Hungarian-born composer (d. 1951) *1892 - William Powell, American actor (d. 1984) *1897 - Sir Neil Ritchie, British general (d. 1983) *1898 - Isidor Isaac Rabi, American physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1988) *1900 - Eyvind Johnson, Swedish writer, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1976) * 1900 - Don Redman, American musician (d. 1964) *1904 - J. R. D. Tata, Indian industrialist (d. 1993) *1905 - Clara Bow, American actress (d. 1965) * 1905 - Dag Hammarskjöld, Swedish 2nd UN Secretary-General, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1961) * 1905 - Thelma Todd, American actress (d. 1935) * 1905 - Stanley Kunitz, American poet (d. 2006) *1906 - Diana Vreeland, French-born fashion editor (d. 1989) *1907 - Melvin Belli, American lawyer and actor (d. 1996) *1911 - Iakovos (d. 2005) *1913 - Erich Priebke, Nazi war criminal *1914 - Irwin Corey, American stand-up comedian *1916 - Charlie Christian, American jazz guitarist (d. 1942) * 1916 - Budd Boetticher, American film director (d. 2001) *1918 - Edwin O'Connor, American novelist and Pulitzer Prize winner (d. 1968) *1920 - Rodolfo Acosta, Mexican actor (d. 1974) * 1920 - Neville Jeffress, Australian founder of Media Monitors Australia (d. 2007) *1921 - Richard Egan, American actor (d. 1987) *1923 - Jim Marshall, founder of Marshall Amplification * 1923 - Gordon Mitchell, American actor (d. 2003) *1924 - Lloyd Bochner, Canadian actor (d. 2005) * 1924 - Elizabeth Short, victim in the Black Dahlia case (d. 1947) *1925 - Mikis Theodorakis, Greek composer * 1925 - Ted Lindsay, Canadian hockey player *1927 - Harry Mulisch, Dutch author *1929 - Jean Baudrillard, French philosopher *1930 - Paul Taylor, American dancer and choreographer *1932 - Nancy Kassebaum Baker, United States Senator from Kansas *1933 - Lou Albano, American pro wrestling manager * 1933 - Colin Davis, British racing driver * 1933 - Robert Fuller, American actor *1935 - Peter Schreier, German tenor *1936 - Elizabeth Dole, U.S. Senator from North Carolina *1937 - Daniel McFadden, American economist, Nobel Prize Laureate *1938 - Peter Jennings, Canadian-born journalist (d. 2005) * 1938 - Jean Rochon, Quebec politician *1941 - Jennifer Dunn, American politician (d. 2007) * 1941 - David Warner, English actor *1942 - Tony Sirico, American actor *1943 - David Taylor, English snooker player *1946 - Neal Doughty, American keyboardist (REO Speedwagon) *1947 - Dick Harmon, American golf instructor (d. 2006) *1951 - Dan Driessen, American baseball player *1953 - Ken Burns, American producer and director * 1953 - Geddy Lee, Canadian musician (Rush) * 1953 - Patti Scialfa, American singer, guitarist and songwriter *1955 - Dave Stevens, American illustrator * 1955 - Jean-Hugues Anglade, French actor *1956 - Teddy Atlas, American boxing trainer and commentator * 1956 - Ronnie Musgrove, Former Governor of Mississippi *1957 - Nellie Kim, Russian gymnast * 1957 - Alessandra Marc, American operatic soprano *1959 - Sanjay Dutt, Indian actor * 1959 - Ruud Janssen, Dutch writer and artist * 1959 - Dave LaPoint, American baseball player * 1959 - John Sykes, British guitarist (Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, Tygers of Pan Tang) *1962 - Scott Steiner, American professional wrestler *1963 - Graham Poll, English referee * 1963 - Jim Beglin, Irish football commentator * 1963 - Alexandra Paul, American actress *1965 - Chang-Rae Lee, Korean-born author * 1965 - Luis Alicea, baseball coach * 1965 - Dean Haglund, Canadian actor *1966 - Martina McBride, American singer * 1966 - Richard Steven Horvitz, American comic voiceactor *1969 - Adele Stevens, English model and erotic actress *1971 - Monica Calhoun, American actress *1972 - Wil Wheaton, American actor *1973 - Stephen Dorff, American actor * 1973 - Wanya Morris, American singer (Boyz II Men) *1974 - Josh Radnor, American actor *1975 - Corrado Grabbi, Italian footballer *1979 - Karim Essediri, Tunisian footballer * 1979 - Ronald Murray, American basketball player *1980 - Fernando González, Chilean tennis player * 1980 - Rachel Miner, American actress *1981 - Fernando Alonso, Spanish two time formula 1 world champion * 1981 - Andrés Madrid, Argentine footballer *1982 - Jônatas Domingos, Brazilian footballer * 1982 - Janez Aljančič, Slovenian footballer * 1982 - Allison Mack, American actress *1983 - Alexei Kaigorodov, Russian hockey player Deaths * 238 - Pupienus, Roman Emperor * 238 - Balbinus, Roman Emperor *1030 - Olaf II of Norway (b. 995) *1099 - Pope Urban II (b. 1042) *1108 - Philip I of France (b. 1052) *1507 - Martin Behaim, German-born navigator and geographer (b. 1459) *1612 - Jacques Bongars, French scholar and diplomat (b. 1554) *1644 - Pope Urban VIII (b. 1568) *1752 - Peter Warren, British admiral *1781 - Johann Kies, German astronomer and mathematician (b. 1713) *1792 - René Nicolas Charles Augustin de Maupeou, Chancellor of France (b. 1714) *1813 - Jean-Andoche Junot, French general (b. 1771) *1833 - William Wilberforce, English abolitionist (b. 1759) *1839 - Gaspard de Prony, French mathematician (b. 1755) *1844 - Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart, Austrian composer (b. 1791) *1856 - Robert Schumann, German composer (b. 1810) *1857 - Thomas Dick, Scottish scientific teacher and writer (b. 1774) *1887 - Agostino Depretis, Italian statesman (d. 1813) *1890 - Vincent van Gogh, Dutch painter (b. 1853) *1900 - King Umberto I of Italy (b. 1844) *1913 - Tobias Michael Carel Asser, Dutch jurist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1838) *1934 - Didier Pitre, French Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1883) *1938 - Nikolai Krylenko, Russian/Soviet jurist and politician (b. 1885) *1950 - Joe Fry, British racing driver (b. 1915) *1951 - Hozumi Shigeto, Japanese author (b. 1883) *1954 - Coen de Koning, Dutch speed skater (b. 1879) *1964 - Vean Gregg, American baseball player (b. 1885) *1970 - John Barbirolli, English conductor (b. 1899) *1973 - Roger Williamson, English racing driver (b. 1948) *1974 - Cass Elliot, American musician (b. 1941) * 1974 - Erich Kästner, German author (b. 1899) *1976 - Mickey Cohen, American gangster (b. 1913) *1979 - Herbert Marcuse, German philosopher (b. 1898) * 1979 - Bill Todman, American television producer (b. 1916) *1981 - Robert Moses, American urban planner (b. 1888) *1982 - Harold Sakata, Japanese-American actor (b. 1920) * 1982 - Vladimir Zworykin, Russian physicist and inventor (b. 1889) *1983 - Luis Buñuel, Spanish director (b. 1900) * 1983 - Raymond Massey, Canadian actor (b. 1896) * 1983 - David Niven, English actor (b. 1910) *1984 - Fred Waring, American band leader and inventor (b. 1900) *1990 - Bruno Kreisky, Chancellor of Austria (b. 1911) *1992 - Michel Larocque, French-Canadian hockey player (b. 1952) *1994 - Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin, British chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1910) * - Temika Chantel Johanna Jackson Trinidadian School Student, *1996 - Ric Nordman, Canadian politician (b. 1919) * 1996 - Jason Thirsk, American bassist (Pennywise) (b. 1967) * 1996 - Marcel-Paul Schützenberger, French mathematician (b. 1920) *1998 - Jerome Robbins, American choreographer (b. 1918) *2001 - Edward Gierek, Polish politician (b. 1913) * 2001 - Wau Holland, German computer hacker (b. 1951) *2003 - Foday Sankoh, Sierra Leonean rebel leader (b. 1937) *2004 - Rena Vlahopoulou, Greek actress and singer (b. 1923) *2007 - Mike Reid, English comedian and actor (b. 1940) * 2007 - Michel Serrault, French actor (b. 1928) * 2007 - Tom Snyder, American television personality (b. 1936) * 2007 - Marvin Zindler, American television reporter (b. 1921) Holidays and observations *Faroe Islands - Ólavsøka: opening of the Løgting session. *National Anthem Day in Romania. Roman Catholicism * Saint Eugenius, king Magdeburg * Saint Felix I, pope, and companions (Simplicius, (siblings)), martyrs common * Saint Ladislas, king, confessor (Deposition) Hungary * Saint Lupus, bishop of Troyes, confessor Constance, Metz, Paris, France * Saint Olaf II of Norway, king of Norway, martyr, patron of woodcarvers Scandinavia - celebrated in Norway as Olsok (St. Olav's Day) * Saint Pantaleon Paris * Saint Beatrice of Nazareth * Saint Martha, host of Christ, sister of Lazarus, patron saint of cooks, domestic staff and dieticians common * Saint Serafina External links * BBC: On This Day * * On This Day in Canada ---- Category:July